Protest is the origin story for Pride and Black Lives Matter movements: 5 Things podcast
On today's episode of 5 Things: One year ago, our country was at the height of the coronavirus pandemic and in the midst of a racial justice movement unlike anything we'd seen since the 1960s. And, it was Pride month.
Last June, the pandemic and turmoil over police brutality and racial injustice pushed the 50th anniversary of Pride in new directions.
The 5 Things team is bringing back our Pride month episode from last year because we think the snapshot it provides still matters for the same reasons.
This episode originally aired on June 14th, 2020.
Hit play on the podcast player above and read along with the transcript below.
Claire Thornton:
Hey, there I'm Claire Thornton, and this is 5 Things. It's Sunday, June 6th. These Sunday episodes are special, we're giving you more from in-depth stories you may have already heard.
Claire Thornton:
A year ago on June 14th, 2020, we aired an episode called "Protest Is The Origin Story For The Pride And Black Lives Matter Movements." We're re-airing that episode today because we think its message still holds true in so many ways. When the episode originally came out last summer, there were protests in all 50 states following the death of George Floyd. Way back then, one year ago, we wanted to show listeners what the Stonewall Inn riot, the event that sparked the modern LGBTQ movement, has in common with the current movement for racial justice. We talked to LGBTQ activists and experts about how Black, queer leaders fought for racial justice. At the same time, they were advancing LGBTQ rights. In the episode, you'll also hear from journalists who were in the thick of covering Black Lives Matter protests last May and June. And you'll hear from some ordinary folks who are asking themselves how they wanted to celebrate Pride last summer at the height of the coronavirus pandemic and amid a racial justice movement unlike anything our country had seen since the 1960s. That's actually where our story begins. Here it is.
Andy Waller:
Pride sort of, kind of isn't going to happen in the conventional way this year. How can Pride still happen? And how can I make it happen?
Claire Thornton:
That's Andy Waller. They're a small business owner in Richmond, Virginia. Each year, they rely on selling their jarred pickles, salsas and jams at Pride events, but that wasn't going to happen this summer, the 50th anniversary of Pride. So Andy decided to organize a virtual Pride for Richmond, and it looks similar to Pride events happening around the world this weekend. I'm Claire Thornton, and this is 5 Things. It's Sunday, June 14th. These Sunday episodes are special. We're giving you more from in depth stories you may have already heard. Today, we're examining how this year's Pride month looks and feels different. Many Pride events are virtual. You'll hear from LGBTQ leaders who tell us how the modern LGBTQ rights movement started with protests against the way police treated their community. As Black Lives Matter fights for racial justice during this Pride month, LGBTQ leaders are shifting their efforts to help support the movement.
Claire Thornton:
On this episode, you'll hear from a Black LGBTQ activist, a faith leader from St John's church, where President Trump posed with the Bible. And you'll hear from LGBTQ pioneer, Karla Jay, who was part of the uprising at Stonewall Inn. They all have something to say about protest, whether it was 1969 or this month. You'll also hear from medical reporter, Liz Szabo, she's been covering how people across the country are getting injured by tactics police use against protestors. We're talking to people in the thick of developing news stories from cities and communities around the country. Tell us what you think about these Sunday episodes by tweeting us at @usatodaypodcast. We want to hear from you, but first here's Andy Waller again.
Andy Waller:
It started out as a little local Pride market with a little fundraising spin. And from there, it's really blossomed into this full on, what feels like an actual full on Pride event, just virtual.
Claire Thornton:
Pride month is going virtual around the world. People are staying home to prevent the spread of COVID-19. Andy Waller's virtual Pride is also giving part of revenues to Black-run nonprofits in Richmond.
Andy Waller:
The most important aspect of this event is the fundraising aspect, the awareness aspect. It's an awareness event to support and promote the visibility of these organizations that are doing has massively important work in the Black and LGBTQ community.
Claire Thornton:
There's a history of the LGBTQ and Black communities connecting. Leaders like Bayard Rustin, Audre Lorde, and Pauli Murray fought for rights where their identities intersected, along lines of race and queerness. Victoria Kirby York is an activist for the Black and LGBTQ communities. She told me how violence from police is at the heart of both the modern LGBTQ movement and the Black Lives Matter movement.
Victoria Kirby York:
There was a hashtag called Existing While Black, and it was highlighting all the times and ways, whether you're talking about a little kid playing with a water gun in the park, being shot by the police within seconds, of Black people just finding joy and having that joy being criminalized. And the same thing happened during Stonewall and afterwards. Whenever queer and trans folks sought to find joy, we were criminalized and punished for it.
Claire Thornton:
Black and brown trans women and other queer people taking a stand against police violence in June of 1969 led to marches. Then those marches became a movement. LGBTQ activist, Karla Jay was there at the Stonewall Inn the night police showed up and a riot broke out.
Karla Jay:
And the police escalated the Stonewall police raid into a riot that lasted for a week and there's such a similarity here today. If the police hadn't been so aggressive, there wouldn't have been a Stonewall uprising. And the same thing here. The police do these things to communities, they act with extreme aggression in situations that really don't call for it and then social change happens.
Claire Thornton:
We've been seeing protests in all 50 states the past few weeks in reaction to the death of George Floyd and countless other Black people at the hands of police. That's audio of police deploying tear gas against protesters outside the Iowa Capitol building on May 30th. The forceful clearing of the Lafayette Square Protest on June 1st captured headlines nationally when police used chemical irritants to clear away for President Trump's photo op in front of St. John's church. John Moore is a founder of the Washington Interfaith Network representing St. John's church. His colleagues were helping Black Lives Matter medics when protesters were forcefully cleared out. John told me how he felt when he learned what happened.
John Moore:
They, at that moment, were defined as other, and at that moment, they were the object of police enforcement, being called to get them not to do what otherwise their right to be. There was nobody throwing anything around them. And then suddenly out of the blue came this deluge of the police. I felt like I got punched, even though I'm one of the ones that would not normally have that happen.
Claire Thornton:
This month Moore says people need to educate themselves about discrimination and violence they may have had the privilege of never experiencing.
John Moore:
For those of us that aren't in those communities, we need to be made aware and to think about how to correct it.
Claire Thornton:
Karla Jay says the LGBTQ community needs to do more to help support Black causes, whether they overlap with the queer community or not.
Karla Jay:
Police harassment is long known in many communities of color and in the LGBTQ community. We have this common cause. When the LGBT movement started to work primarily for the benefit of their own community, that was a huge mistake. We need to uplift and work for all of our neighbors, whether or not they are sexually identified in the way we are. We need to ally ourselves with other people. We believed in the late 60s and early 70s that none of us are free until all of us are free.
Claire Thornton:
Victoria Kirby York wants more people to remember that Black, queer women started the Black Lives Matter movement in 2013 and 2014. She's speaking about Alicia Garza and Patrisse Cullors, two of the three founders of Black Lives Matter.
Victoria Kirby York:
Our movements have always been intersectional, even if our messaging and our policy asks have not always been. The folks who set up the intersections have always had to fight all fronts in order to achieve full liberation. And that's exactly what we're seeing now.
Claire Thornton:
Medical reporter, Liz Szabo, never covered injuries from rubber bullets before this month. In the past two weeks, she's been talking to protestors, doctors and police officers about injuries from less lethal weapons. She found that 3% of people hit with rubber bullets between 1990 and 2017 died from the injury. And based on the data available, 15% of victims were permanently injured.
Liz Szabo:
Rubber bullets is sort of a catchall name for a wide variety of weapons. A lot of rubber bullets are not just rubber, they actually have metal inside. Some of these rounds are called sponge tipped rounds or foam rounds. Again, those names make it sound like you're hitting someone with a party favor. It's not crazy foam. These things are very hard. And what really surprised me the most when I started looking into this for the first time is that they can kill you, they're even worse than getting stabbed in the eye as inconceivable as that is or even shot in the eye.
Claire Thornton:
What did police instructors say about how officers are taught to use rubber bullets?
Liz Szabo:
Police are told explicitly on their first day of training, never aim at the head. If you're aiming at the head, it basically is becoming lethal force. It's no longer a less lethal force. All of the instructors I talked to said, people should never, ever, ever aim at the head. You should only aim at the legs. Paramount, also, you're not supposed to hit peaceful protestors. What's interesting really is just how often they were used just recently, because really police tell me that cops have been very reluctant to use rubber bullets or similar projectiles. I'm using that a catch all term. But really cops don't use rubber bullets all that often. They certainly use them in enormous numbers over the last two weeks so I'm not sure what brought about that change.
Claire Thornton:
Taking to the streets is a big part of both these movements. USA TODAY will keep examining that risk and you can read more on less lethal force from Liz's story throughout this week. For some people getting onto the streets to March in solidarity is not an option. Disabled people, people more vulnerable to COVID and even people who aren't out as LGBTQ can attend virtual Prides this year. Victoria Kirby York says that's a big deal.
Victoria Kirby York:
There are some people who could have never physically joined a Pride are going to be able to join online even if it's just under the covers in their room.
Claire Thornton:
Access is an important part of Andy Waller's Richmond virtual Pride too.
Andy Waller:
Pride should be for everybody, like Pride should be for every LGBTQ person. Our kind of motto for this is you don't have to come out to show up.
Claire Thornton:
You can check out stories about Pride month, the Black Lives Matter movement and police brutality at the links in the episode notes. Some of the stories are from one year ago, they give a snapshot of what our country was facing last summer, and the facts, statistics, and history in those stories still carries the same weight. If you liked this episode of 5 Things, leave us a review on Apple Podcasts. I want to thank Shannon Green for her help editing this show. Thanks for listening. I'm Claire Thornton. Taylor Wilson will be back tomorrow morning with 5 Things You Need To Know For Monday.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Protest is the origin story for Pride: 5 Things podcast
